Deepdale: Preston North End

Sir Tom Finney Way, Preston, Lancashire, England, PR1 6RU

jay-jerry / Flickr.com

Deepdale stands on the land of what was once Deepdale Farm, from which it takes its name. Though the land was leased by North End, the town’s sports club, as early as 1875 it was only used for cricket and rugby; they didn’t actually play association football until 1878 and only adopted the code for football proper in 1880.

Preston North End have had some famous footballing names pass through their ranks over the years. Sir Tom Finney remains the club’s top scorer and was considered to be one of the best footballers of all time when he played for the club between 1946 and 1960. Bill Shankly, who later went on to be the founding father of modern day Liverpool Football Club, also played for Preston.

Deepdale Seating Plan & Where to Sit

Deepdale is a traditional ‘English Style’ ground with four distinct stands. The Sir Tom Finney Stand houses the players’ tunnel and was the first to be rebuilt when the club was renovated in the mid-90s. The Invincibles Stand opened in 2008 and replaced the former Pavilion Stand, whilst The Bill Shankly Stand is a Kop style stand that houses the away supporters. Finally, The Alan Kelly Stand welcomes the club’s most vocal supporters and is directly opposite The Bill Shankly Stand.

Preston North End Ticket Prices

Tickets for Preston North End matches are easy to figure out, price wise. The club don’t categorise matches so the price you’ll pay depends on where in the stadium you’d like to sit and how old you. That’s it. Here are the cheapest and most expensive tickets for adults and concessions.

Adults: £24 - £30

Concessions: £16 - £23

How To Get Preston North End Tickets

Tickets are available in person at the ticket office, over the phone to the club’s hotline, from the club shop in the city centre, from the Invincibles ticket office on a match day and via the club’s official website.

Where to Buy

Getting To Deepdale

Preston is located in Lancashire, so it’s easier to get to from the North than the South, but it’s not exactly Siberia. Here are some of the routes you’ll consider taking:

Train - Preston Railway Station is around one and a half miles from the ground, so it’ll take you about thirty minutes to walk.

Bus - There are two match day specific bus services that run from the centre of Preston to the ground. The Soccerbus and Footyrider will both take you where you need to go. On normal days the 19 and 19A will do.

Car - From the North you’ll take the M58 then get on the M6. Leave that at Junction 31A then take the B62642 and the B6241. From London you’ll want the A40 then the M40 before getting onto the M6. Leave the M6 at Junction 31 and take the A59 then the A5085 and the A6063.

By Air - The closest airport to Preston is Blackpool Airport. It’s about a thirty minute drive but mostly handles private aircraft, so your best alternative is Manchester Airport. That’s about an hour away and there’s a train link that can take you to Preston.

Taxi - A taxi from Preston Railway Station to Deepdale will take just over ten minutes and cost around £9.

Parking Near Deepdale

There are two parking areas at Deepdale, namely The Invincibles car park and The Sir Tom Finney Car Park.

A little further afield at more like nine miles from Deepdale, this place does what it says on the tin. There’s a golf course, two restaurants, a garden and a games room. There’s also free Wi-Fi and free parking. More details.

Pubs & Bars Near Deepdale

Preston is a typical Northern town full of character and personality. There are some good pubs to choose from, including:

The Sumners

195 Watling Street, Preston, PR2 8AB (01772 705626)

Popular with away fans and offering a good menu of British classics, The Sumners is a great place for a pre-match pint.

St. Gregory's Catholic Club

242-244 Blackpool Road, Preston, PR1 6HQ (01772 930934)

St. Gregory’s is, as you might expect, linked to a church. They welcome home and away fans, therefore, plus they show live sport on big screens and have competitive prices for their drinks.

O'Neill's

79 Friargate, Preston, PR1 2ED (01772 204379)

If in doubt about where to go for a pre-match pint and bite to eat, you can’t go too far wrong with an Irish bar. O’Neill’s offers decent grub and cheap booze as well as live sport on big screens.

Facilities

All of Deepdale’s stands have been renovated since the mid-90s so you’ll generally be quite happy with the facilities available to you. There are plenty of kiosks from which you can buy decent food and drink before and during the game.

Prices

Programme: 3.00

Pie: 2.80

Cup of tea: 2.10

Beer: 3.50

Hospitality

John Anderson / Flickr.com

There are a number of excellent hospitality packages available at Deepdale, with The Invincibles Lounge and The Great Room both being extremely popular. There are different options as far as your hospitality experience is concerned, with a pre-match dish of the day available in some compared to a three-course meal in others. You will get executive seating and pay bar facilities in most packages available, though.

Private Hire

Preston North End describe Deepdale as ‘the premier conference and banqueting venue in the North-West’. Whilst Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City might have something to say about that, it’s certainly true that there are a number of excellent lounges that can be used for business meetings, private parties and even weddings.

Stadium Tours & Museum

Tours of Deepdale promise to take you behind-the-scenes and allow you to explore areas such as the changing rooms, the side of the pitch and the manager’s dugout. They tend to run on non-match day Sundays and cost £5 for adults and £2.50 for concessions. You need to book your tour in advance. There is no longer a museum at Deepdale, though the National Football Museum did used to be at the ground before it was moved to Manchester.

About Preston North End

Preston North End, the first Football League champions in 1888-89 - See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Originally founded as a cricket club, Preston added the ‘North End’ to their name when they moved from Bow Lane to the North end of Preston. They were remarkably successful during the early years of their existence, which coincided with the early years of the English Football League. In 1887, for example, they beat Hyde 26-0 in the first round of the FA Cup, a record winning margin that has yet to be beaten.

They won the First Division twice in succession from 1888 to 1890, have won the Second Division three times and the Third Division twice. They won the FA Cup in 1889 and 1938 and though they have never won the League Cup they have made the fourth round five times, most recently in 2003.

Deepdale History

Deepdale’s history dates back as far as 1875, but the ground you’ll see today is unrecognisable compared to its counterpart. Work to regenerate the ground began in 1995 when The West Stand was demolished and re-built as The Sir Tom Finney Stand. In 1998 The Bill Shankly Stand was re-built, whilst in 2001 The Alan Kelly Town End replaced The Town End Terrace. The Old Pavillion Stand was closed in 2006 and a new Pavillion, named The Invincibles Stand in honour of the Preston North End team that went an entire season unbeaten, was opened in 2008.

Outside of the ground there is a statue of Sir Tom Finney, known as The Splash. It was unveiled in 2004 and was modelled on a photo of the player considered to be one of the greatest of all time that was taken during a match against Chelsea in 1956. Along with Finney and Bill Shankly, whose face adorns the stand named in his honour, other famous names to have passed through the storied old stadium include David Moyes, Tommy Docherty and Alex Ferguson’s son Darren.

Future Developments

mark.watmough / Flickr.com

Owing to the fact that massive regeneration of the stadium has been done over the last twenty years or so, it is unlikely that more work will be done in the foreseeable future.